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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. field — farmland
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. press — a publisher
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. bank — of a river
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. cell — in biology
  12. bank — for money
  13. field — a subject
  14. rash — hasty
  15. rash — a series
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. bank — for money
  18. field — for sport
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. press — newspapers
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. chest — a box
  24. nail — on a finger

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com